Social and procedural effects for computer-generated environments

Abstract

A processor provides a simulated three-dimensional (3D) environment for a game or virtual reality (VR) experience, including controlling a characteristic parameter of a 3D object or character based on at least one of: an asynchronous event in a second game, feedback from multiple synchronous users of the VR experience, or on a function driven by one or variables reflecting a current state of at least one of the 3D environment, the game or the VR experience.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method comprising:
 providing, by at least one processor, in a data signal configured for an output device, a simulated three-dimensional (3D) environment of a virtual reality (VR) game played by a user; and 
 controlling, by the at least one processor, a morphologic parameter of a 3D game character included in the simulated 3D environment based on a current user feedback state produced by aggregating feedback from multiple synchronous users of the VR game, the aggregating feedback generating an aggregate value of user feedback derived in near real-time, 
 wherein the morphologic parameter controls at least one of a dimension, a surface contour, or a surface texture of the 3D game character based on the aggregate value to reflect an aggregated user preference. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the feedback is received from multiple synchronous users of the VR game from a network. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein controlling the morphologic parameter comprises changing the at least one of the dimension, the surface contour, or the surface texture of the 3D game character. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , wherein the morphologic parameter controls is configured to control the surface texture of the 3D game character based at least in part on varying at least one of a 2D color value, scale, position, or pattern of the surface texture, based on the feedback. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor performs the varying at least in part by adjusting parameters of an algorithm that generates attributes used to procedurally generate the 2D color value, scale, position, or pattern of the surface texture. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 3 , wherein the morphologic parameter is configured to control the surface contour of the 3D game character. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the controlling the morphologic parameter includes determining an amount of a predefined morph to apply to the surface contour of the character, based on a rolling average of past play. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein controlling the morphologic parameter comprises changing the morphologic parameter based on the current user feedback state. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the current user feedback state is generated at least in part by aggregating user inputs from the multiple synchronous users indicating user emotional reactions to events in the 3D environment. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising: varying, by the at least one processor, state variables of the VR game in response to the user inputs, based on a rule set. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the state variables control at least one of a health, power, accessory, mood, or wealth attribute of the character. 
     
     
       12. A system for controlling a simulated three-dimensional (3D) environment, comprising:
 at least one memory have processor-readable instructions stored therein; and 
 at least one processor configured to access the at least one memory and execute the processor-readable instructions to perform operations, the operations comprising: 
 providing in a data signal configured for an output device, a simulated three-dimensional (3D) environment of a virtual reality (VR) game played by a user; and 
 controlling a morphologic parameter of a 3D game character included in the simulated 3D environment based on a current user feedback state produced by aggregating feedback from multiple synchronous users of the VR game, the aggregating feedback generating an aggregate value of user feedback derived in near real-time, 
 wherein the morphologic parameter controls at least one of a dimension, a surface contour, or a surface texture of the 3D game character based on the aggregate value to reflect an aggregated user preference. 
 
     
     
       13. The system of  claim 12 , wherein the feedback is received from multiple synchronous users of the VR game from a network. 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 13 , wherein the current user feedback state is generated at least in part by aggregating user inputs from the multiple synchronous users indicating user emotional reactions to events in the 3D environment. 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 14 , the operations further comprising:
 varying state variables of the VR game in response to the user inputs, based on a rule set. 
 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 12 , wherein the morphologic parameter is configured to control the at least one of the dimension, the surface contour, or the surface texture, at least in part by changing at least one of the dimension, the surface contour, or the surface texture of the 3D game character. 
     
     
       17. The system of  claim 16 , wherein the morphologic parameter is configured to control the surface texture of the 3D game character based at least in part on varying at least one of a 2D color value, scale, position, or pattern of the surface texture, based on the feedback. 
     
     
       18. The system of  claim 17 , wherein the varying is performed at least in part by adjusting parameters of an algorithm that generates attributes used to procedurally generate the 2D color value, scale, position, or pattern of the surface texture. 
     
     
       19. The system of  claim 12 , wherein the morphologic parameter is configured to control the surface contour of the 3D game character. 
     
     
       20. The system of  claim 19 , wherein the controlling the morphologic parameter includes determining an amount of a predefined morph to apply to the surface contour of the character, based on a rolling average of past play.